Bethany Joy Lenz will be recurring as "an attractive former finance executive looking for a quieter life,"

Rhys Coiro will be starring as a tough bail jumper that Deb is tracking.

The role of Harrison has been recast, with Jadon Wells filling the part.

Darri Ingolfsson will play an antique dealer of old medieval equipment who starts dating Dexter’s neighbour.

There will be a new character named Zach. He's characterized as a socially awkward loner, and he will appear in up to three episodes. (Whether this is the role Darri Ingolfsson is playing, I can't say.)

Miami Metro's newest Detective is about to be introduced on episode 8.06 of Dexter. His name is Thomas Bishop and he'll appear for 7 episodes (till the season/series finale).

Sean Patrick Flanery, will be joining the new season of Dexter for a major recurring role. He will play Jacob Elroy, the ex-cop owner of a private investigation company in Miami.

Charlotte Rampling will play the role of Dr. Evelyn Vogel.

Nick Gomez will play hit man Javier Guzman, who will find himself frustrated when Debra gets in between him and his target.

Usual rules apply, once it has aired it is fair game for open discussion! After air time, do NOT enter this thread if you don't want to be spoiled about the newest episode!

Damn, I was going to start this one! One time I'll get there before someone else

Really looking forward to it. How dark will Deb go?

I did 4, 5 and 7 (someone very rudely did 6 before me ) and was determined to get 8! I figured that the closer it gets, I was risking someone jumping in!! I'm not sure why it matters, I just suffer from OCD and like my thread titles a certain way

I'm fascinated to see what's going to happen with Deb, plus how they can actually finish things in 12 episodes... Seems like they're cutting it fine!

Is it absolutely 100% certain, no wriggle room whatsoever that this is the last season?

When they announced the renewal during season 6 for both seasons 7 and 8, it was very much spun as "the end," Showtime entertainment president David Nevins saying "I’m not going to say with absolute certainty that this is the end, but that is the likely scenario, that the series is moving towards a definite end” (full story here)

Apparently it was pretty much Michael C Hall's call whether to carry on or not, so I guess that'll still be the case after this season, depending on if Dex even survives of course!

Has any specific reason been given why it's being shown so early in the year BTW, I've always been used to the season finales being just before Christmas?

As much as I love Dexter, I do hope that they end it at Season 8. Mainly cos I like it when they announced before season 7 that 8 will be the last, and I thought Season 7 really put the pieces in place for a great last season. Really looking forward to it either way.

Is it absolutely 100% certain, no wriggle room whatsoever that this is the last season?

As Metal Mickey already elaborated, it's been very back and forth. I've seen articles from higher-ups categorically stating that it will be the last and yet there remains uncertainty, hence the question mark in the thread title!

"Since the show has been renewed for two more seasons, is this definitely the end?

Colleton: This was definite. We wanted to end it this year, but the network convinced us that it would be best to do it in two years. In some ways, this is a two-season series-ender. We have worked that out and know where it's going to end. Next year will definitely be the last year of Dexter. Absolutely."

Which seems pretty comprehensive, given who it's coming from- yet there has still been no official confirmation.

Last month however, the CEO of CBS (who also runs Showtime) said this:

""We have Ray Donovan coming on with Liev Schreiber, which comes on with Dexter's last season starting in June, and then we have Masters of Sex," Moonves replied with a laugh as if to acknowledge something that Showtime has yet to do."

That is then followed by:

"Showtime executives have been mum on what the future holds for Dexter. A spokesperson for the network told The Hollywood Reporter late Monday that there was "nothing confirmed" about if the series could and would continue beyond season eight."

Has any specific reason been given why it's being shown so early in the year BTW, I've always been used to the season finales being just before Christmas?

I believe it's so they can use it as an instrument to launch the new series 'Ray Donovan'. It makes sense, Dexter has had high viewing figures and so would be an excellent lead-in for a new show. It certainly seemed to work well with Homeland, anyway. Why move Dexter and not Homeland? Beats me, although as I write this I think I recall reading that they're planning to run something else alongside Homeland now. I'll have a look.

EDIT: Ah, Masters of Sex is the other new show. Presumably they're going to use Homeland as a lead-in for that.

Yvonne Strahovski is officially returning to Dexter for the show’s eighth season.

The actress is set to reprise her role in a multi-episode arc this summer as Hannah McKay, the gorgeous killer florist.

Spoiler

Good I feel like her story isn't quite over yet

Apparently Dexter is back early this year for Showtime to use it to launch new shows. Not entirely sure how that'd work because I thought most new shows in the US start around Septemer, but there you go

Apparently Dexter is back early this year for Showtime to use it to launch new shows. Not entirely sure how that'd work because I thought most new shows in the US start around Septemer, but there you go

As mentioned in the first post, it returns on June 30th. Shows don't specifically have to start in September, that's just considered the start of the TV season for the major networks.

The cable and subscription networks like HBO/Showtime/AMC work to their own schedules, hence why they tend to have fewer episodes per season and run at differing times throughout the year. Even on ABC, Fox, NBC et al, some shows are held off until January (which I believe is known as a mid-season show) and then some will even start after the main season is over (Summer shows, such as AMC's Breaking Bad or Hell on Wheels).

If everything ran between September and May, there'd be an incredibly boring three months inbetween!

You could be right tbh, prob most likely Hannah kills Deb, Dex finds out it was her and kills her in vengeance only to be caught by Angel & Miami Metro

Spoiler

I can envisage a situation where Dexter's true punishment is being in some way responsible for Deb's death and for prison to no longer matter, any more than freedom. I could also see Jamie adopting Harrison, perhaps ending up with Quinn?

Just completely random conjecture that will likely turn out to be a million miles from what happens